Hundreds and Thousands of people celebrated Easter Sunday Mass in the UAE after two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, which refrained people from their homes only.
There were millions of worshippers at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Dubai on Sunday, 17 April, to celebrate the holy day of Easter.
Parish Priest Fr Lennie Connully used this occasion to encourage churchgoers to pray for the people of Ukraine after their home country was invaded by Russians.
He stated, “The world is not peaceful right now. There are a lot of nations that are experiencing misery and turmoil.”
“People have remained very patient for the last two years when they could not worship in church. The patience was all worth it,” said Father Lennie Connully, St Mary’s Catholic Church.
“The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a perfect example of a country where there is peace, and we have to pray that same peace spreads to other nations. There are so many places that do not have the peace we have, particularly those suffering in Ukraine.”
He asked the churchgoers to pray for all the refugees worldwide.
“Mankind is mankind, and we all are brothers and sisters in the end,” said Fr Connully.
“We pray for those residing in nations where war is raging and who are not fortunate enough to be celebrating mass today.”
On Easter Sunday, ten services were taking place in different languages throughout the whole day.
Dubai authorities also came in for special praise from Connully for letting devotees to return in huge numbers on Easter Sunday.
He said, “The authorities were very courteous in accepting our proposal for Easter Sunday attendance at Mass.”
“They did not ask anything, and it feels like it did in pre-Covid times, apart from wearing masks and following social distancing.”
Worshippers were inside the church, but thousands more were standing outside listening to the service through speakers. They all were also required to wear a mask even outside the church.